Philanthropy · Denver, Colorado · est. June 2020
The Underdog Family
An underdog is a competitor thought to have the odds stacked against them. Those are the people and businesses we fight for. What started as a one-time project to help one local business has grown into a volunteer-powered 501(c)(3) rooting for Denver's underdogs ever since.
Summer 2020
It started with a closed door
In the summer of 2020 I visited a locally owned restaurant whose Google listing said it closed earlier than it actually did. Customers weren't coming in the evening because they thought the doors were shut, and a staff member explained they hadn't been able to get those hours changed for months. That small, fixable problem was costing them business every day.
The Underdog Family was founded on June 8, 2020 to close that gap: connecting locally owned businesses with the professional resources they couldn't afford, at the moment the pandemic made it matter most. With Vice President Derrick Knudsen, CTO Darian Nocera, and a crew of dedicated volunteers, what began as one website grew into a family of 16 partner businesses.
Skills-based volunteering
What TUF does
TUF began by building complete digital storefronts for partner businesses at zero cost: websites, online ordering, professional photography, and social media. Volunteers donate their professional skills, so every dollar raised goes further with no full-time staff or overhead.
Today the mission has evolved: TUF focuses entirely on bringing people together through community events hosted by local businesses across Denver.
- Community events that bring local customers to local businesses
- 16 free websites with online ordering built for partner businesses
- Small business workshops teaching owners to run their own digital presence
The family
The businesses we root for
TUF's partners are the gems of Denver's neighborhoods: Welton Street Cafe in Five Points, Genna Rae's Wings, The Donut, and Comal Heritage Food Incubator, a restaurant that trains immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs and has helped launch four businesses of its own.
Partnership goes beyond a website launch. TUF has teamed with partners to deliver a feast from Welton Street Cafe to 50 teachers at McAuliffe Manual Middle School, send meals from Genna Rae's to Denver firefighters, and thank healthcare workers with meals from partner kitchens.
Beyond the storefront
Bringing the community together
Uniting neighborhoods is half the mission. TUF hosts happy hours, coffee meet-ups, and signature events like the annual Fall Ball and Summer Sizzle, which drew 150+ guests and ten volleyball teams to raise funds alongside partner business owners.
Volunteers have also run park cleanups, a Veterans Day food and clothing drive with The Franklin Foundation, and an Underdog book drive. Good times with good people, in service of the community.
Visit iamtuf.org See The Underdog Family's Journey since 2020
TUF in the field
Root for the underdog
Join the family
The Underdog Family is a 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 85-1334240). Donations are tax deductible, and every one of them is stretched by volunteer hands.